Symphony of Enchanted Lands

Waaaay back in 1997, a pretty much unheard-of band released what in my opinion is one of the best albums ever recorded - Legendary Tales, with which this unheard-of band, now very much heard of - Rhapsody, topped the European charts. A phenomenal, albeit short disc; 45 some odd minutes of incredible, obviously Helloween influenced bombastic power metal with a real orchestra - trombones, violins, cellos, the whole bit. There was also a medieval story of icy warriors and dark lords, but let us not concentrate on the negative aspects - had Rhapsody been judged solely by their lyrical prowess and abilities of making dramatic storylines where one would actually CARE about the protagonists, their album would have been an utter failure. The lyrics get their point across, so to speak, and we ask naught more. As it is though, one must understand the poorly written concept to grasp the idea of the continuation between the two albums, so I'll do my best to bring this aspect forward. As it's explained in the childishly written Chronicles section of the Legendary Tales booklet, the story involves a world of might and magic, where an ancient (AND prophesied) evil - the Dark Lord has set his sights on the world for whatever purpose, and but one warrior of true and noble heart can defeat him - the Warrior of Ice. Thus we follow the Warrior through (I'm reaching here) 1/10th of the journey, as he discovers the evil, has his, quote "...beloved..." princess killed, and starts seeking revenge; he also discovers information on a certain item - The Emerald Sword (which will be the premises of the new disc; a disc which I will get around to reviewing after several more paragraphs), and finally after doing some heroic deed or such, he falls asleep in a magical forest. Yes, the story IS something of an introduction to what is supposed to be a multi-chaptered saga, and Symphony of Enchanted Lands (SOEL) is Chapter # 2. What's my main problem with the lyrics, you might ask? It's not the IDEA of the medieval concept, I can tell you that right now; I LOVE the whole mythology bit, and had Luca Turilli been as great in writing lyrics as he is in writing music...well, things would have been better for all of us. But alas, he's not, and the idea of a memorable concept is pretty much lost, with such wonder...err...woeful lyrics about demons "...circling skies to play with your head...", and "...being impaled OF shit..." (an isolated incident of course; profanity is not the band's foray) leaving very little not to be desired.

Now then...As I said before, the new album which I am currently about to start reviewing sooner or later does NOT end the saga off. Oh no, the Dark Lord thingy is still out there somewhere, BUT by the end of the disc, the hero does manage to snag the Emerald Sword from whoever kept it nice and snuggly for him through the 55+ minutes (the duration of the disc). Enough with the story though, let's talk music! There is of course much comparison between the two discs in this aspect, however SOEL is much more epic, bombastic, and darker...after all, from song 5 on down towards the end, the hero enters the beast's zone (lair, dark tower, etc.), and the music accompanies his journey accordingly. The orchestra, dare I say it, sounds aeons better than before, with a near flawless production; unsuprisingly the band has vastly improved since their last venture as well - not only is there a new bassist providing the, ahem, bass, but the previous band members sound better than ever! Luca Turilli and Alex Strapoli's solos sound absolutely enchanting (no pun intended), and Danielle's double bass drumwork is still very, very...great. Fabio Leone's pronounciation techniques are as atrocious as ever (more so), but his range seemed to have gotten even higher, and if and when the music gets to a level where these vocal problems are not AS evident, he sounds like a god!

And then there's the music. As I said before, it's more epic, bombastic and powerful, but this comes with a small price - the sheer appeal of the disc is most likely not going to be immediate - it takes a good, solid week, maybe less, to fully get into the music, and when you do...let's just say your neighbors won't be too happy about it! And, uh, speaking of prices to pay, there's another one, well...two more actually. There's the price you pay for the cd (harr, harr), and there's also the narrator you're gonna have to endure - this young 'un sounds totally shitty and unrealistic, a bit like the Chess champion/avid Dungeons & Dragons player from your local high school, and while he does not spoil the music (NOTHING can spoil this music), he is defenitely going to get on your bad side from the moment you hear him speak...why the band couldn't get somebody like Simon Templeman is beyond me...nevertheless, I digress. I squawked over long enough about the disc, and might have even given you the impression that I wasn't TOO impressed by it...let me amend that horrible, horrible mistake right now with an in-depth song by song review...

I.) Epicus Furor - 1:14 Roughly (and I do mean ROUGHLY) translating into "...Forthcoming accident, that we fear, give us trouble in the future...", the opener sets the pace for the entire album, much like Ira Tenax did back on Legendary Tales...well, much better too. Ultra bombastic music and operatic choirs give way to the well known Conan the Barbarian melody. A savage masterpiece which smoothly progresses into...

II.) Emerald Sword - 4:21 As you can hear from the opening music, you're gonna be in for one hell of a ride. I must succumb to using a word which is defenitely going to be popping up all over the place - "bombastic", as there is just no way around it - a bombastic intro leads into a bombastic verse, and that into - you guessed it - a bombastic chorus. The solo relies on a well known, medieval melody played to perfection (courtesy Luca Turilli) before returning to the...chorus. As for the orchestra, it provides the 'fills', and they're played in a totally flawless manner. Incredible opener, and much like the next 8 songs, one of the album's highlights, the song traces the hero's journeys through a dark and mystical cavern, on a quest for the Emerald Sword.

III.) Wisdom of the Kings - 4:29 Another fast and triumphant track in the vein of 'Emerald Sword', the song lyrically continues the warrior's journey into the unknown. Musically, it's fast, and has great verse formation, a fast chorus, and a terrific, violin accompanied solo. The song doesn't really stand out too much above the rest of the material (except maybe the solo), but when viewed from the point of the album in it's entirety, it's a flawless and incredibly well played composition.

IV.) Heroes of the Lost Valley - 2:04 Despite the brief length, this 'track' is divided into 2 seperate parts. Of course not really a song, rather a pivotal point for the album, after a short little harpsichord melody, this gives us a first glimpse of the monster - not the Dark Lord of course, no...rather the narrator who reads in his nasal voice that YOU, the Warrior, must avenge the deaths of many other fallen warriors, by defeating whatever beast is responsible FOR these deaths...this can also serve as an intro for the grandiose boon you are about to receive - track #5!

V.) Eternal Glory - 7:29 Oh yes indeed! An ultra bombastic and orchestral intro gives way to what is going to be a long and absolutely incredible track. The extremely exciting and adventurous music goes on for a while before finally giving way to the verse - great formation here - the verse starts of mystically and calmly before exploding into the bridge and the terrific chorus. The solo is played to perfection, and verse #2 starts off with some more bombastic and rollicking melodies. The last minute however, is a very calm and soothing harpsichord melody which provides the transition into the next track. Lyrically, the hero now enters the lairs of this demon, in order to avenge the deaths of those warriors I mentioned earlier...

VI.) Beyond the Gates of Infinity - 7:24 A creepy little intro gives way to some pounding basslines; this is all before the track really STARTS. When it does, you'll know it, as from start to finish, the song is all over the place - a little 'Flames of Revenge' here, a little 'Lord of the Thunder' there...the track seemed just way too OUT there on the first few listens, but only later did I discover the pure genius behind the song - you see, the Warrior has now encountered whatever gruesome beast it was, and a fight is waged between the two - the music has to sound accordingly, and it sure does - what may appear as an inconsistent melody on the first listen, turns out to be very atmospheric later on, and there is always the awesome keyboard section in the solo. The chorus is rather silly, especially lyrically, but it serves well when taken in context with the song. Bottom line - AWESOME!

VII.) Wings of Destiny - 4:28 The 'Echoes of Tragedy' of the album, this is a slow and dramatic ballad, that's hindered...or maybe the word should be characterized...by Leone's mispronounciation of the word 'virgin' (as in "virgin skies", which sounds like "weergen"). But how can you pay heed to this insignificant little flaw, when the song sounds so great otherwise? A slow and yearning verse gives way to the excellent, dramatic and always melodic chorus. Hear it once, hear it twice, hear it...many MANY more times - the song always touches my heart.

VIII.) The Dark Tower of Abyss - 6:47 I am not going to pick one favorite track on the album, for obvious reasoning, but if I was to do something of that nature, this is going to be it - one way or another, this is the highlight of the album for me (although I am gonna keep denying it from now on), and in another words, an absolutely incredible song - while the ending is similiar to that of 'Eternal Glory' (slow, soothing piano), most of the song has a very dark and epic feeling to it. The verse seems brimming with energy in the beginning, and it proves just that by totally exploding seconds later. The chorus is fantastic too, but the highlight of the track is the solo - incredible keyboard melody, which translates into a heavy, guitar-oriented solo. The warrior has entered the DARK tower after all, and the song is just that - DARK! I'm even going to forgive to little narrator section in the middle...

IX.) Riding the Winds of Eternity - 4:13 Another awesome track brimming with speed and energy. This starts out with some majestic, albeit slow music, before exploding into the ultra-fast and (sigh) bombastic verse/chorus combo built around a magnificent riff. The warrior is flying his dragon through the sky, and damned if I can't picture a splendid scene such as the aforementioned, after having heard the song!

X.) Symphony of Enchanted Lands - 13:17
Ah, the title track...well, as you can first of all decipher for yourself, the song is LONG...and it's divided into four seperate parts - for the sake of having written so much in one sitting, I shall make it easier on myself, above all people, and go over the four parts individually...

- 1. Tharos Last Flight The short but unfortunately not the last narration, Mr. Chess Champion gives a laughable performance here, as he describes how, quote "...Tharos, the beloved dragon spread his wings for the last time..." (sob) - a pretty well written monologue actually, backed by some great music, but it's delivery is pitiful. Sorry.
- 2. The Hymn of the Warrior Another rather short section, but tons better, with Fabio giving an incredible, godly vocal performance. This is a hymn after all, and it's absolutely majestic, backed by something that defenitely sounds like an authentic organ.
- 3. Rex Tremende Yeah...this is the section that sounds the most like normal Rhapsody, and it's also the longest, but by no means outstretched section; read on. A bit of a folk oriented work in terms of the main melody here, with Fabio giving yet another unprecedented vocal performance (just shows how much he improved since the previous disc). Bombastic (yes, that's the last one!) in most places, although this slows down to a little section in the middle which relies purely on operatic, female vocals. Great stuff!
- 4. The Immortal Fire The narrator rides again, thankfully for the last time, on the short, bagpipe-based, triumphant conclusion to the album - the warrior defeated SOME sort of evil (not the Dark Lord though), AND has claimed the Emerald Sword, and can now celebrate in the castles of the Enchanted Lands...Fine conclusion to a fantastic song.